The makeing of the memorial
by JustNoOne
Summary: We all knew the saddness and great death that came with the fox attack, but have you ever heard the story of the man who sholdered those deaths in making the memorial? To make a creation to remind of pain, to live through it. If only memories could kill.
1. Chapter 1 If memories could kill

Every day as he wakes up to the time he sleeps, this man is always wondering to himself of what he is worth, what is his purpose is? He stepped outside of his apartment which is outside under an awning and looked at the cloudy sky. He noted to bring an umbrella to the site.

He bent down outside that morning to get his work list that was delivered too him. He opened it and he stiffened at the amount of names written on it. It was way too familiar.

"Too familiar" he sighed

He knows that his only gift is the art of construction to bring pain to families and loved ones. It seemed that everyday when he got a list of names it didn't burden him any more because his heart is solid ever since that day. But this list was too familiar to him… It started to rain as it rained in his heart, he came to his knees.

"Ohhh…." There were tears in his eyes as he remembered. He put his hands on his head trying to forget.

"_Hey!!" said a group of children in a chorused yell _

_A couple of little boys with jet black hair came running up to the remains of the man's home. The man jerked his head up and choked back his tears. The kids put a large box down behind him and a large cloud of smoke arose and then there was only one child. The boy looked at the site in front of him and frowned. He was silenced at the wavered sorrow that filled the air. The ninja were putting out fires around the village two days after the attack, but the fires were a domino effect, because of the conjoined houses and the vegetation in the village. The fire reached the man's house 2 hours ago and the water affinity ninja's finally got to his property an hour after. The man swallowed he pulled a strong face but his voice did not hid the villages loss… his loss. _

"_What is it boy…"The man rasped a he turned to face him_

_The child was pale before him, the man apologized. The boy was a ninja and possibly fought in the recent attack. So the man sympathized and told him to continue._

"_Sandaime and the council" "asked me to give you this" the boy said his face completely emotionless _

_The boy heaved out a large rectangular box with an envelope attached to the top in front of him. _

_The child treaded behind the turned man towards the disgusting image. The man grabbed the child's arm and said_

"_You don't need to see it" the man began to let out a small sob he fell to his knees. "You are too young to be burdened by that image forever"_

_The black haired boy yanked the man's grasp seeming annoyed as he dawned upon the situation, his face still emotionless. The child turned from the man with and looked at the remains of the burnt house and then he spotted what he did as he arrived. A cringed shriveled figure of a woman completely black burned to death laid before him. Her arm were crossed as if she were to protect something to her chest, as horribly, a smaller tiny figure laid next to her it blackened too. The child ninja's voice echoed in the man's ears and forever ingrained into his heart._

"_I'm sorry for your loss" The boy said, voice monotone face without sadness or compassion. The boy had one last look at with his twin red toned eyes, then vanished_

_The man hated the boy. The boy felt nothing, but the man world was shattered he laid face down crying in front of his deceased wife and child._

The Man realized he was face down on the ground of the apartment complex, his long hair covering and sticking to his face. The elderly man trembled the memories were powerful and shattered his soul. He heard small footsteps, and recognized small feet. He saw a little girl pad her way over to him she must have been 6 or 7

"Oh my…" she whispered,

The man recognized her, she was the daughter of the neighbor's two doors down.

"I'll get help!" she ran off.

The man seeing the girl remembered again,

_The man stood and opened the heavy box while on his knees; inside there were a tangled mess of metal chains. He reached in to grab one that was untangled out and his eyes widened he dropped it and felt a wave of nausea. Inside that box there were hundreds and hundreds of dog tags. They were tangled up in clumps as if they were thrown in. He looked at the message and with shaky hands opened it_

"_Guh." the man drew short breaths for he feared what the message said._

_He landed down on his hands and knees, after he scanned over the information. It was an impossible task and the council knew it. He turned and became sick. He heard yelling_

"_Hey there's a survivor!" _

_A kunochi came running up to the sick man and put her hand on his back. She looked at the remains of his house and family, and tried to keep her composure. _

"_Sir, we have to go it is unsafe" The man could not move. He could not leave his wife and daughter._

_The man realized he had been hyperventilating. He shut his eyes tight hoping this is a nightmare. But he knew better. Other ninja with vests appeared and one murmured to a jonin_

"_This was the one the Uchia mentioned to find" _

_The genin tried to pull his body up, but he pulled away he just could not leave. But the genin's hand rested on his trembling body and said with a soothing voice,_

"_Your heart will heal" she said "and so will the villages"_

_The jonin gave the kunochi a signal._

"_You must come" she ordered_

The man snapped out his memory and felt a hand on his back. He looked up and saw a woman with jade green eyes analyzing him, eyes decked with worry. Saying those exact words.

"Come you must come with me I'm a doctor."


	2. Chapter 2 The box of names

He realized he was on his hands and knees completely. He saw vomit on the floor of the deck of the complex. The little girl was hiding behind the oak door peeking at the situation. The Woman looked at the little girl and said.

"Take the baby to your mother and father, tell them to hurry over." The Child began to run. "Oh…" the women said, "and go rush and get my husband"

"Hai" agreed the little girl

The woman helped the shaky old man up and put his arm over her neck and began to walk. The man was heavy and did not completely agree to moving. She was strong but this man was heavy on her recovering body. Her eyebrow twitched

"Walk with me old man" she hissed

She tried to drag him, but childbirth a few days ago is strenuous no matter how strong a person is. She set him down on the ground and was bent over in panting. The Old man felt bad for inflicting that upon her.

"You are pretty strong willed" the Woman said, she laughed and smiled

The man's body contorted as recalled again

_He looked around and was unsure about his job he was ordered to do. He wondered if he could just simply refuse. He glanced over at the box in full of names illuminated by the moonlight. There was a knock of the private makeshift shack he was given upon the rebuilding village, he looked up and wiped his tears away. He opened the metal door and a figure in robes stand before him in the moonlight_

"_You're the hokage." he stated with a frown._

"_May I enter?" The hokage asked_

"_Of course" the man answered, opening the door wider_

_The Hokage stepped inside and two figures in black followed, but the Hokage signaled for them to wait. The man closed the door. The Hokage got three candles and extra sticks and lit them letting the candle light flicker_

"_Why" the Man asked his fist curled in balls._

"_Well, it is too dark in here" The Hokage said._

"_No!" Bellowed the man, "I refuse to do this!"_

_The Hokage frowned and put the candle down. _

"_No man should ever be put through this…no one" The Hokage said, eyes upon the box of names._

"_Then why me!!" The man reasoned with anger boiling inside him._

"_There are other people in this village for this job" the Man screamed_

"_What you are doing is important, we picked you because you are the best of the artisans and-"_

_The man could not believe his ears he interrupted the Hokage _

"_I'm not the best at causing pain to the families and loved ones of these victims, these husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, uncles and aunts, friends and fiancés!!" He yelled with each category his voice amplified. "And children" The finished choking on the words _

_He sat against the wall, tears began to stream and the Hokage had a sad look upon him._

"_You are not causing pain, you are making closure" "You are signing the signature of all who have died for their villagers, for all the villagers, for all those people you mentioned" snapped the Hokage._

_The Hokage decided it was best to leave him to his thoughts, so as he departed. The Sandaime opened the door and looked upon him and he said,_

"_What we are doing to you is cruel, but truthfully we picked you because you are most strong willed"_

"_Do not fail your village, and do not fail yourself" said the Hokage as the sandaime stepped out and closed the door"_

_He left the man in a daze of self loathing; the man knew he will hate himself forever. He slammed his fist into the metal wall. Injuring it, but he knew now as he sculpted. he will also feel physical pain…_

A man came running down the hallway. He looked panic on his face and asked the pink haired woman

"Are you okay?" "Did he hurt you??"

"I'm fine Shikimaru, I found him on the complex floor sick, and I can't move him after having the baby, I'm too weak."

The old man felt bad for causing this upon a new mother. He looked up at the man,

He was a shinobi jonin. The jonin looked upon him, sighed, lifted him on his back and walked down to his apartment.

"Where is the baby?" asked the woman with pink hair

"He's inside with Ino, my kid brought him in and she ran off"

The woman nodded and they entered an apartment door, The Jonin sat him down carefully in a kitchen chair. Another woman with Blond hair entered the room with a crying baby in a blue blanket and gave it to the mother. The baby instantly calmed and gurgled in the mothers arms. The Blonde Woman looked and the mother and asked

"Why in heavens name did you bring so gross old man into my home?"


	3. Chapter 3 A new kind of art

"Hey…" said the Jonin "He was sick and the hospital is faraway"

"Sheesh oh really?" whined the woman

The mother still holding the baby explained

"It seems he is having horrid flashbacks, so I need your clan's ability to find out what exactly they are."

They looked at the man, still in a trance like daze. The Jonin took the crumpled up list out of the old mans hands. He read it and sighed.

"Hey you two, come here" he said motioning to come and read.

They brooded over the list and the women gasped

"Oh how sad…" The women chorused

The Jonin sat down and the Blonde went to make tea. The pink haired woman set the baby in the ninja's arms and followed the blond. The Jonin plopped a cigarette out and lit it. He shook his head and said,

"The blonde one is mine" the man said "She is such a hassle" "Thankfully the kid acts like me" He exhaled

The smell of cigarette reach the man nose and he grabbed his head and slammed it down on the Jonins table.

The man remembered…

_Rays of sunlight reached the man's eyes and illuminated the room. He looked at the candles seeing they were all melted. He slept on the ground that night and stretched his sore back. He heard a tap at the door and he made his way over to it. He opened it and there were men hoisting a slab of marble towards him, he saw the marble and was overcome with grief… he pushed the pain away and let the Hokage's voice echo in is mind _

"_You are not causing pain, you are making closure" "You are signing the signature of all who have died for their villagers, for protection of all those people you mentioned"_

_The man pointed to a clearing in the small shack of where to put the marble. They placed it on blankets that were laid and they helped move the furniture for him. One of the men smoked a cigarette and ran his hand through his brown hair. He asked a question but the artisan was to numb to process it. The artisan nodded to the ninja and asked them to leave. When they left the one task he was assigned is what he shall think about, only the completion of his job. The man drew a chair and looked at the marble visualizing its shape and layout. He looked upon it; he was a craftsman a sculptor, which made people. He was not a tombstone or memorial sculptor, which signified dead people. Then man put his head in his hands looked up and picked up the letter that was on the box to re-read it._

_ You are to sculpt a memorial for all the Shinobi that have died in the attack. Inside are the dog tags collected from each dead ninja that was found. You will get a private shack to construct the memorial, along with everything you need. You have three day to complete the memorial. _

_The Kohona council_

_The man noted that he had three days. He will not eat, sleep, or rest. He shall construct day and night, to give the village what it deserves. _

Someone was shaking his shoulders the pink haired Woman was kept repeating

"Old man! Old man!" he jerked out of his state.

"Huh? Oh…." He looked up at her, she was speaking to him shining a light in his eyes.

He heard the whistling of a tea kettle. He squeezed his eyes shut

He remembered…

_The loud whining of the blade sharpener did not damage his hearing, for he did not hear a thing he-_

He was slapped across the face…

Pay attention!! Yelped the blonde women, you keep going back to your memories

The old man winced and backed away in his chair for the blonde woman raised her hand but the jonin grabbed it

"It is fine" said the pink haired coming into the room with tea.

I put medicine in the tea, it will help you so have to drink all of it" she soothed.

He thanked the mother as he drank the hot tea. She was right; it helped him made him alert. He was going to polish it off but a crash sounded the room and a man in long robes came through the windows, sending wood chips everywhere. He carried the little girl that found him in his arms set her down. The man and ran to the pink hair woman.

"Sakura! Sakura!" "What are wrong are you in pain???"

"No, No…I'm fine Naruto" She reassured

After the man inspected the woman, his face grew pale searched around.

"Where is Minato?!" "Is Minato okay??" "Is he sick?" "Did he get stolen?!"

The Blonde man's fears were interrupted by the blonde woman hitting his in the head with a frying pan.

"Naruto!!!!" "You better replace that window or you'll be dead in your sleep!!" "Hokage or not!"

The man's eyes widened. The blonde wore Hokage robes, he is the Sixth Hokage. The Old man bowed to him. But there was no need to he was out cold. The mother went to the Blonde woman and yelled

"How dare you hurt my husband!!"

"Yeah, what are you going to do billboard brow?"

"Shut up Ino pig!" The mother growled

The baby busted into tears letting out a loud cry; The Women stopped fighting The Hokage jumped up and snatched the baby and cradled it…

"Truce" The Women chorused


	4. Chapter 4 To remember, then to forget

The baby whimpered and soon fell asleep

The man just looked at the Hokage

He remembered…

_The man finally constructed into a shape, but a day and half was lost… He began to untangle the dog tags and lay them out before him. He positioned his chisel and wrote the first name. M-I-N-A-T-O space N-A-M-I-K-A-Z-E…_

The blond stood in front of the old man, his hands on his shoulders.

"Old man?" said the Blonde Hokage

The man opened his clenched eyes. The room fell silent and the man looked into the Hokage's blue eyes.

"**The easiest thing to do is to remember, but the hardest thing to do is trying to forget."** The Hokage said

Old man nodded

"The attack happened 23 years ago and what you sculpted, your work forgets the poison of the deaths, and helps people remember what those people died for in the first place."

He placed the little baby in the man's arms. Confusing the old man

"Forget the bad and remember the happy the good" "That is what your sculpture represents. What you sculpted is not a curse, it is a work of art" said the Hokage

The man looked down at the child and it opened its ice blue eyes at him. He yawned and showed its blond hair. The man understood now. It is for the baby, for the remembrance of Kohona's heroes. It was for the generations in the future, to teach them the meaning of the phrase "The Will of Fire" Which is forever burned through every name chiseled upon it.

"And in saying that think of your sculpture as your greatest creation" Said the man called Shikimaru

The old man stood, thanked the adults and waved good bye to the neighbor's daughter. He gave the baby back to the woman called Sakura and turned to the Hokage

"You have given me new meaning Lord Hokage" The old man said.

The Hokage smiled and rubbed his head. "Ohh well that a bit exaggerating."

The man turned walking out the door.

"Where are you going?" snapped Sakura

The man turned around to explain he was leaving, but then Sakura placed a bento box in his hand with an address and time.

"You can thank Ino for the lunch box, but I expect you to come for dinner tonight." said Sakura

The Old man smiled happy about the love and care of his new friends.

"I will promised the old man"

He old man walked out the door and began walking to the memorial site. It is late in the day, so he was worried about villagers seeing him chisel new names. The Hokage came running after him.

"Old man!!" "You forgot your list!!"

The Old man turned only to be swept off his feet then in an instant at the memorial. The man thanked the Hokage as the blonde Hokage vanished. The old man saw people around the memorial and as he came they ushered away. The old artist looked upon his greatest creation. He chiseled names upon the marble and recited what the Hokage said

"**The easiest thing to do is to remember, but the hardest thing to do is trying to forget. Your work helps people remember what those people died for in the first place. What you sculpted is not a curse, it is a work of art…"**

And the old man tells himself that everyday…


End file.
